Oncewing

Between every point, you are given the miraculous chance to simply come back to the present. It sounds simple but its the solution to every single players mental problems. All mental problems stem from being not present and aware. If you are playing angry, bored, depressed, fearful, stressed, worried, excited etc. - you are not present, and actually you are not playing at all, just fighting yourself. You are living in thoughts. By believing the thoughts you take on the emotion that follows, and that makes it impossible to live in the present. The good news is: No matter how heavy or deep you think your mental issues are, the answer is just coming back to the present.

If you are playing doubles and feel bad or guilty for missing an easy shot- imagine the pressure of being a goaltender for a whole team. Former NHL goaltender Braden Holtby was able to overcome this pressure and lead the Washington capitals to a Stanley Cup in 2018. He had a famous strategy between plays when the whistle blew and the play stopped - He would sq**rt a stream of water high into the air, pick out a specific drop of water, and watch it fall onto the ice. This is so beautiful because it fully encapsulates the act of staying aware and present during the time where athletes are most vulnerable to thoughts and emotions sneaking in. I coached a student in Dallas TX that would get really lost in her thoughts. I could see the look of apathy that would possess her as she fell further and further into her thoughts and away from the moment. She was a highly skilled player and had exceptional style but the pressure and expectations from herself, parents, and coaches started interfering with her ability to play. Through my teachings and lessons she began to understand that the negative feeling she had was a direct product of engaging with her thoughts. Continued at Oncewing.ca/blog

The best performances in sport are often categorized as “effortless”. This is a stark contrast to one of the main principles taught in sport to always “try”. Some synonyms of effortless are : Comfortable, relaxed, unhurried. Whereas Synonyms of “try” are : attempt, struggle. Now which one sounds more like a good performance?

Trying a different strategy in a game, means to have an idea and to attempt to enact it. This is not how excellence in performance works. Excellence is being able to momentarily adapt to the rally, staying relaxed enough to see the openings and not trying to force the winning shot or set up. In a match, generally the player that “tried everything” is the losing player. Sometimes beating themselves, with the opponent not having to do much else but play. High performance athletes have all had matches that they felt like they “tried everything” and nothing worked.

If you are trying your hardest, the stress alone will tighten your body and restrict your ability to outplay your opponent. Instead of being in a battle with your opponent, you will be in a battle with your mind.

Now I am not talking about an uninspired, lackluster performance where a players body language is drained, the attitude is depressed and heavy and the ego is high. I actually think this is the final result of a player trying everything for months or years and having no progress. Then what is playing is not the player, but a dark spirit of resentment that has taken over.

Giving 100% means giving yourself fully to the game at hand and has nothing to do with trying. Trying comes along with a sense of hesitance, unfamiliarity, and leaves room for failure instead of learning. Instead of trying just do. Doing is fully committing. This should be the encompassing spirit of athletes on their quest to greatness. Trying will come with room for failure whereas doing will come with room for learning. Continued @ Oncewing.ca/blog

One of Jesus’s most important teachings was in Matthew 6:3 “But when you give to the needy, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.” Jesus teaches to give without boosting the ego. Not to give to make yourself feel good, but to give because you are content and with the spirit of God.

This teaching goes deeper than Matthew 6:5-6 “ And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward. But when you pray, go into your inner room, shut your door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

In the sport world the hypocrites Jesus is referring is the players that constantly brag about the score when they play well, complain about the game if they play poor. This is playing for validation and ego “to be seen”. Which I am sure all of us have done at some point. As players grow spiritually and overcome that desire, they may not boast or brag for validation but they are still feeding the ego. Playing for the approval of others and playing for the approval of yourself is no different. The same self loathing that follows a bad loss and inflated self importance that follows a good win remain.

So when you are in the zone playing against the top player in the tournament and your eyes wander to see the scoreboard and you are winning - don’t fall into the elation that is knocking at the door. If you embrace that excitement and the dopamine that follows, you will certainly lose the flow that brought you there. When grandiose fantasies come you need to catch that thought, realize its a lie, and come back to the present. Same goes for the opposite, with regard to the fear, depression, and anger that comes along with believing thoughts of losing to someone you should beat. Continued at Oncewing.ca/blog Thanks to all of the players that provided input this week

NEXT LEVEL TRAINING THIS SUMMER IN YYC ! FULL TRANSFORMATION PACKAGE AVAILABLE NOW. USE THIS SUMMER TO BECOME A NEW PLAYER. OVERCOME FEAR, EXPECTATION, ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, ANGER. PLAY WITH THE SPIRIT OF FREEDOM AND REACH YOUR ULTIMATE SELF.

The good ol’ flow state,

Where time, thought, and self awareness yield to the powerful spirit of the moment where creativity, divinity, beauty and effortless improvement is found.

In the flow state, something subverts time.

That something is often mistaken for an untapped reserve deep within us, but its not something within. Its more appropriately something that swoops down and carries us seemingly out of no where until suddenly, or slowly we are dropped back off into our usual self.

We all experience glimpses of it through life, when we are wholly captivated by something and an hour can pass by faster than a minute counting the seconds in a boring classroom.

So how do we enter it an what leads to it departing from us?

Entering it is easier than most would believe, you just need to let yourself become one with the task at hand, ignoring expectations, judgements, and thoughts that take you away from the moment. An easy way to do that is to consciously listen to the sound of the bird hitting the racquet, feel each micro movement in your fingers, toes, core, feel the ground and how you are gliding around the court, watch the feathers on the bird and not passively. During this if you see your thoughts drawing up outcomes, expectations, ideas etc you practice disregarding the thoughts and returning to the supreme moment - where everything happens. Mastering this will also prevent injury because you will be able to listen to your body instead of your mind and move presently and properly.

So everything is going well, you are performing effortlessly- you are in the flow state. A thought appears that says, this feels amazing, I am playing so well and effortless and right there you suddenly you miss an easy shot. A whole shift in consciousness happened and you are all of a sudden fighting to just get back in the rallies. So what happened?

Well, first your ego took credit in the form of a thought and second you believed that thought. By believing the thought you let it turn to emotion and felt gratified- that excitement took you out of the present. Continued at Oncewing.ca/blog

Playing Momota I realized, these guys are just human and they are not unbeatable. If we can develop a proper system in place here in Alberta we could become a hotspot for dominating the badminton world. Oncewing is working fervidly on making this happen. we need to provincialize elite sport so top Albertan athletes are celebrated, rewarded, and given the ability to pursue their purpose, while making our homeland proud. But with Oncewing we won’t even need governmental funding, we are creating systems for elite players to make a living off of their journey. BWF Badminton Japan Alberta

Playing Momota I realized, these guys are just human and they are not unbeatable. If we can develop a proper system in place here in Alberta we could become a hotspot for dominating the badminton world. Oncewing is working fervidly on making this happen. we need to provincialize elite sport so top Albertan athletes are celebrated, rewarded, and given the ability to pursue their purpose, while making our homeland proud. But with Oncewing we won't even need governmental funding, we are creating systems for elite players to make a living off of their journey.

If you want to improve your badminton in SW Calgary these programs are for you. Graydon and Imran are both born and raised in SW Calgary and went on to represent Canada internationally - competing on the BWF tour. Come and join us this summer at the Seven Chiefs Sportsplex world class athletic facility.